Nigeria records rise in gas output

n n

Special Adviser to the President on Oil and Gas ,Olu Verheijen

n

Nigeria’s gross gas production has risen to 7.63 billion standard cubic feet per day from about 6.83 billion standard cubic feet per day in 2023, the presidency has said.

n

Mrs Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser to the President on Oil and Gas, disclosed this at the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce Energy Day 2026.

n

A text of her presentation at the event, held recently in Lagos, was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday.

n

Verheijen also disclosed that the nation’s proven reserves now stand at over 215 trillion cubic feet of gas.

n

She said the monumental increase was achieved through targeted presidential directives which improved the environment for deep-water, non-associated gas and midstream infrastructure.

n

The Special Adviser disclosed that over four billion dollars in international oil company divestments were refocused on deep-water and integrated gas.

n

She said the feat was achieved also because President Bola Tinubu’s administration successfully addressed the challenge of the cost of doing business.

n

According to her, contracting that once took thirty-six months currently takes around fourteen while the government is driving toward a target of six.

n

“The market responded. Nigeria’s share of African upstream final investment decisions rose from about four per cent in the year 2023 to roughly forty per cent across 2024 and 2025.

n

“With the development, about 10 billion dollars was committed with a visible pipeline of some 500 billion dollars ahead.

n

“Stalled projects are moving again, including Bonga North, Ubeta and HI gas developments and new non-associated gas developments that anchor long-term supply to our LNG exports.

n

“When Nigeria improves the rules of the game, capital returns to the field,” she said.

n

Beyond an increase in production, the special adviser said the administration repositioned gas as a foundation for industrialisation.

n

According to her, the administration does not see gas as merely a transition fuel but a development fuel, central to power, fertiliser, petrochemicals, clean cooking, CNG transport, LNG exports and manufacturing.

n

“The goal is not simply to produce more gas; it is to ensure Nigerian gas becomes Nigerian power, Nigerian products, Nigerian jobs and Nigerian exports.

n

“A nation does not grow wealthy by owning resources; it grows wealthy by converting them into value,” she said.

n

Verheijen said Tinubu’s administration is restoring financial viability to the gas-to-power chain.

n

She noted that, for years, the power sector was constrained by accumulated arrears, weak payment discipline and tariff distortions.

n

She said that the Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme was built to address the challenges directly.

n

The special adviser recalled that the Federal Executive Council approved a bond programme of up to N4 trillion to settle verified generation and gas-company arrears.

n

“Under it, generation companies have signed full and final settlement agreements worth about N2.28 trillion.

n

“The N501 billion Series 1 bond was issued and oversubscribed, with payments to generation and gas companies now underway.

n

“A second series of N729 billion will follow to complete the first phase,” she said.

n

Verheijen restated that the fund was not a bailout but a strategic reset that cleared verified arrears, restored liquidity, and gave operators the footing to invest with confidence. (NAN)

n n